Syria Bars 17 Western Diplomats, Including U.S. Ambassador

That move comes "a week after 11 Western nations acted in unison to expel envoys from Syria in an expression of outrage over the massacre in the Houla region, near Homs, that left 108 people dead, including many women and children," as The New York Times writes.

The U.S. embassy in Damascus has been closed since February.

The BBC says the diplomats on the list are from "the U.S., U.K., Switzerland, France, Italy, Spain, Belgium, Bulgaria, Germany and Canada."

Those are among the nations that have been most vocal in condemning the Assad regime's crackdown on dissent in Syria, which has led to the deaths of thousands of Syrians. The regime blames "terrorists" for the violence.

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